Communicated on 9 July 2019
THIRD SECTION
Application no. 25576/16
Abbas ALLAHVERDIYEV
against Armenia
lodged on 3 May 2016
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The applicant, Mr Abbas Allahverdiyev, is an Azerbaijani national, who was born in 1974 and lives in Tapgaragoyunlu in the region of Goranboy. He is represented before the Court by Mr A. Baghirov, a lawyer practising in Baku.
A. General background
1. At the time of the demise of the Soviet Union, the conflict over the status of the region of Nagorno-Karabakh arose. In September 1991 the establishment of the “Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh” (the “NKR”; in 2017 renamed the “Republic of Artsakh”) was announced, the independence of which has not been recognised by any State or international organisation. In early 1992 the conflict gradually escalated into a full-scale war which ended with the signing, on 5 May 1994, of a ceasefire agreement (the Bishkek Protocol) by Armenia, Azerbaijan and the “NKR”. Following the war, no political settlement of the conflict has been reached; the situation remains hostile and tense and there have been recurring breaches of the ceasefire agreement (see further Chiragov v. Armenia [GC], no. 13216/05, §§ 12-31, 16 June 2015). The most serious such breach started during the night between 1 and 2 April 2016 and lasted until 5 April and involved heavy military clashes close to the border between the “NKR” and Azerbaijan (sometimes referred to as the “Four-Day War”). Further clashes took place later that month. Estimates of casualties vary considerably; official sources indicate at least 100 dead on either side of the conflict. The great majority of the casualties were soldiers but also several civilians died. Many residents in the targeted towns and villages had to leave their homes for certain periods of time. Furthermore, the clashes led to substantial property and infrastructure damage.
B. The circumstances of the case
2. The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.
1. The situation in Tapgaragoyunlu
3. On 2 April 2016, at around 3 a.m., the Armenian armed forces began shelling Azerbaijani towns and villages located along the line of contact between Azerbaijan and the “NKR”, using artillery and rocket launchers. In the village of Tapgaragoyunlu, situated a few kilometres away from the line of contact, about 70 residential houses were destroyed by the shelling. The residents of the village had to leave their homes and settle temporarily in neighbouring villages.
4. Following the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement on 5 April 2016 an emergency commission, consisting of representatives of various local authorities, was established to assess the damage to civilian property in the region. Among other things, it conducted site examinations.
2. The circumstances of the applicant
5. At about 5 a.m. on 2 April 2016 the applicant left the village together with his family – wife and three children – because of the bombardment. After leaving the family members with a relative in the town of Naftalan, the applicant returned.
6. In the evening of the following day, at about 10 p.m., when the applicant went out of his house, it was hit by shells. A shell fragment hit the applicant’s face, under the right eye. He went to hospital to receive medical care.
7. The shellfire broke windows and damaged the roof and walls of buildings on the applicant’s property. 48 hens and 18 turkeys died.
8. On 8 April 2016 the above-mentioned commission conducted a site examination at the applicant’s property. According to the protocol of the examination, the commission established that 34 sq. m of roof covering and 16 sq. m of window glass of the main house had been damaged as well as 626 sq. m of roof covering of various outbuildings.
9. A report on a forensic medical examination of the applicant’s injury, issued on 10 April 2016, specified that he had a wound under the right eye measuring 3 x 1.4 cm, caused by a shell fragment. The report further stated that the wound could have been inflicted on 2 April.
10. The applicant has submitted an Azerbaijani ID card indicating his birth year and residence in Tapgaragoyunlu, an official certificate indicating the composition of his family, an extract from the land register concerning his ownership of the land with a mention that it could be used for the construction of, inter alia, a private house, the site examination protocol, photographs of the damage and two witness statements.
COMPLAINTS
11. The applicant complains, under Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention, that the actions of the attacking forces had put his life at risk and caused him anguish and distress.
12. He also claims under Article 8 of the Convention that his right to respect for his family life and home had been infringed.
13. Under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention the applicant complains that his house had been damaged during the shelling, thereby depriving him of the peaceful enjoyment of his property.
14. Invoking Article 13 of the Convention in conjunction with Articles 2, 3 and 8 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, he maintains that there was no effective remedy in Armenia for his complaints.
15. Finally, under Article 14 of the Convention in conjunction with Articles 2, 3, 8 and 13 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, the applicant alleges that the military attacks had been directed against Azerbaijanis due to their ethnic and national origin.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Do the facts of which the applicant complains in the present case fall under the jurisdiction of Armenia?
2. Has the applicant had at his disposal an effective domestic remedy for his complaints, within the meaning of Article 13 of the Convention? If so, has he exhausted this remedy, as required by Article 35 § 1 (see, for instance, Chiragov and Others v. Armenia [GC], no. 13216/05, §§ 115-120, 16 June 2015)?
3. Was the applicant’s life threatened in the present case and, if so, was his right to life, ensured by Article 2 of the Convention, violated? In particular:
(a) Was the force used in compliance with the Convention or international humanitarian law?
(b) What types of weapons were used by the armed forces on the “NKR” side during the clashes in April 2016?
(c) Were specific targets pre-determined and, if so, which were these targets? Was the applicant’s property or the area in which he and his family live a target and, if so, why?
(d) Were the military operations planned and organised in such a way as to avoid or minimise as far as practicable any injury to the civilian population and any damage to private property? If so, what were the precise precautions taken?
4. Was the applicant subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment, in breach of Article 3 of the Convention, as a consequence of the military operations and their effects?
5. Has there been an interference with the applicant’s right to respect for his family life or home, within the meaning of Article 8 § 1 of the Convention? If so, was that interference justified in terms of Article 8 § 2? In particular, did the applicant have to leave and stay away from his home due to the clashes in April 2016 and, if so, for how long was he unable to return?
6. Has there been an interference with the applicant’s peaceful enjoyment of possessions, within the meaning of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1? If so, was that interference justified?
7. Has the applicant suffered discrimination in the enjoyment of his Convention rights due to ethnicity or nationality or on any other ground contrary to Article 14 of the Convention?
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